Create a beautiful patio or driveway without the expense or environmental impact of concrete, with one of these budget & eco-friendly concrete alternatives.
It's been a very productive couple of weekends to get the mulch down in the backyard. If you're getting ready to lay mulch and are researching how to do it, then keep reading. In this article, we'll share all the research and how you can finally get your mulch project completed. What is Mulch Simply
Create a beautiful patio or driveway without the expense or environmental impact of concrete, with one of these budget & eco-friendly concrete alternatives.
My old DIY was long overdue for an upgrade.
Take a look at four unique outdoor garden room ideas that will inspire you to get the most out of your space. Four homeowners will share their own exciting outdoor spaces, and we'll give you the tour.
This stylish and functional edible landscape design will help you remake your plain concrete patio into a destination that looks good and tastes delicious!
An old cob cottage about to be invaded by weekenders. The Earth has voted on the best low cost building material to make houses with and it is....the earth itself! Recently we read that 70% of all buildings are made from earth (and that's not even including made-into-bricks or turned-into-concrete varieties). Besides these more common techniques, earth can be rammed, baked, put in sacks, pushed into tyres, shoveled on top of you, or any other method our sandbox minds can come up with. We have a feeling earth is going to win our Cheapest House Challenge (at least in the materials cost department), it sure is hard to beat stuff that is already delivered free, to even the most barren of lots. Clay and sand can sometimes be found at different levels of the same soil. And while the above earth-stacking methods have their adherents, for our money you can't go past the tried and tested, D.I.Y., nothing-else-needed technique of cob. Cob is the name for the particular ratio of clay-rich earth, sand and water, blended with hay, that forms a solid, durable building material. Usually also seen with stone for a base, these cob-and-stone buildings were the most common low cost home in pre-industrial Britain, when bricks took over to meet the needs of a large, urban population. It is said that almost anyone can learn to build with cob, and that the technique lends itself to personal, perpetually adaptable, and a lovely slightly "wobbly" result. A cob building needs no structural formwork, and so it bypasses the need for carpentry skills. There are loads of cob building tutorials and information on the web, and we'll link to some of the best. One site that grabbed our attention was the Cob Cottage Company, who mention a $500 cottage their founders have lived in for years. No specific plans or photos were supplied, but using recycled features and group labor, the principle is sound. (And it sure is nice to think you don't have to beg your bank for a high interest loan, but can build your house with the kind of money you might make from a yard sale instead.) The one thing cob houses don't have is speed - it takes about a day (with a whole bunch of helpers) to build about a foot of wall. But as a low cost building method it can't be beat. Helping speed things up is getting the right machinery (from hand held electric plows, concrete mixers, or bobcats) can make the job faster, and without a mortgage on your back would free up plenty of time! There are a few basic tricks you need to know with cob building (but no less than any other material). One is cob must be protected from water, which necessitates high footings of stone or concrete for the cob to sit on (see below), and a roof that protects the walls from too much rain (the 'cap and boot' method). Applying a few layers of linseed oil to the surface also helps. Another point to keep in mind is that cob needs to "breathe". Many people today in the UK, mistaking old cob buildings for stone, have painted them with contemporary paints, allowing moisture to build up inside the cob, and forming serious cracks. Cobs need only a lime plaster to cover their outside, which is usually white in appearance, but can be tinted to most any soft color. Low cost homes that are also low fuel-bill, eco homes are a charm, and beat an energy-sucking trailer for a mile. Cob walls are thick (providing excellent thermal properties) to provide structural strength. Most contemporary cob buildings have curved walls to increase wall strength (or combine buttresses or built-in internal cob furniture, like fireplaces or chairs). We seem to have forgotten the technology somewhat of how to build the long, straight walls we see in old cob buildings from Europe. A posh cob, UK style. Planning Permission. While cob can be used for your whole structure with a roof on top, it's said that submissions to government authorities can be smoothed over by placing load bearing timbers, perhaps at the corners of rooms or around windows and doors. If these support the roof, you essentially have a pole house, and most won't be too fussed about what "fills" the space in between the poles.In discussions with authorities, it is perhaps best to mention that you are not building a low cost home or using low cost building materials, rather, you are using a design that will fit in with the heritage of the area. There are cob building workshops you can find in most countries once you tap into the networks. Cob building is such a social (and human labor run) activity that if you hear of any cob-building activity we suggest you volunteer your services. Helping out is the best way to learn; and once you are confident enough to build your own structure you can advertise for (and educate) more would-be cob interest volunteers. For more cob information on low cost building with cob: The Cob Builder's Handbook A nice rundown by a couple building a 400 sq. ft. cob home, including receipts! - $10,000 in total, almost half of which was for the cement floor. See some low cost cob-compatible flooring alternatives here.
Create a beautiful patio or driveway without the expense or environmental impact of concrete, with one of these budget & eco-friendly concrete alternatives.
Interested in learning more about this topic and more social and sustainable ways of doing architecture? Apply now for our Postgraduate! DISCLAIMER [This article shows the development of the first step of a new prototype experimented in Critical Concrete. During the conception of the green...
Update your concrete patio with rust-oleum, and I will show you how! If you’ve been following along for a while, then you might remember that we’ve been working on projects to fix up the exterior of our house since the spring. I shared the whole “before” of our exterior as well as our plans to...
DIY Concrete Hand Garden Planter Tutorials: Hand Cupped Concrete Garden Planter Tutorials, concrete garden hands,
These homes explore different prefabrication techniques throughout the Midwest state.
Sydney timber slats fences, primed treated pine, hardwood, modwood, steel powder coated posts.
Here's how to create a simple and striking wooden walkway for your garden, just in time for spring. All you need is a little scrap wood!
From asphalt to brick, basalt to concrete, this is the stuff dream driveways are made of.
Get our FREE eBook: 10 tips to fall back in love with your home that once needed instant concrete, like…
Take a backyard from basic to beautiful with these new walkway or garden pathway decorating and design ideas fabulous on a budget can bring plenty of style
A plank pathway Cape Flattery at the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Explore - May 30, 2012 #55
There are alternatives to cementing the yard when lawn maintenance becomes too frustrating. Personal preferences, price, and location, influence your choices.
Concrete is one of the most versatile building and paving materials in existence but, for a long time, it was also sadly limited in terms of style and
DIY rock pathway ideas and tutorials
Lately, I’ve been contemplating the state of my backyard. My ideal would be to have a lovely brick patio, but alas that’s not in the budget at the moment. However, during the daydreamin…
If you're a busy homeowner looking for something easier or just someone wanting to make a statement, there are many non plant alternatives to traditional grass to accomplish your needs. Read more here
My favorite of my boards on Pinterest is my “Great Garden Paths” board. I have a weakness for garden paths. There is something so incredibly inviting about a path through a garden. It says, “Explore me,” or “Feel free to look AND touch, I’m cool with it.” My favorite garden paths bend around corners, begging […]
Stepping stone pathways in your garden can be an excellent addition, enhancing the aesthetic and lead you on a stroll through the landscape.
A Home project… part of Appletree Haven’s intensive garden makeover. Finally it’s done! Many sidetracks and weather delays, and a few health delays too! This pergola is quite big …
A simple and easy tutorial for making Modern Concrete Planters to add a bit pizzazz to your landscaping.
Concrete, or cinder block, is an inexpensive building material for the garden. Easily picked up at your local home improvement store, and you can use it to create garden hardscaping that will last. We picked 5 ways to use cinder blocks in the garden to share with you! Let's get inspired with this post!
Here are 10 genius hacks to use concrete blocks (or board formed concrete)—from humble DIY projects to architects' designs—to improve an outdoor space.
Gravel driveways are hands-down the most affordable option upfront. Asphalt driveways place second in cost, followed by cement and pavers. Although gravel driveways are the least expensive initially, they require the most maintenance long-term.
Updating a walkway to something a bit more modern and fresh can give your home an incredible new look for a fraction of the cost of larger renovations.
